Report: Timothy Geithner May Leave Administration After Debt Deal Is Completed

It looks like we’re headed for another change in the Obama Cabinet:

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has signaled to White House officials that he’s considering leaving the administration after President Barack Obama reaches an agreement with Congress to raise the national debt limit, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Geithner hasn’t made a final decision and won’t do so until the debt ceiling issue has been resolved, according to one of the people. All spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about private discussions.

If Geithner leaves, that would be the second major Cabinet change this year, the first being the retirement of Robert Gates at DoD, which became official today.

FILED UNDER: US Politics, , , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Neil Hudelson says:

    What are the odds that he leaves for a VP slot at BofA, Citi, or JP Morgan?

  2. Dave Schuler says:

    Incentives matter. That would be enough for me to support raising the debt ceiling.

  3. Tsar Nicholas says:

    Those actually would be long odds, No. 1, given that Geithner already was President of the N.Y. Fed and the N.Y. Fed is controlled de facto by Goldman Sachs. A V.P. slot is beneath him in the eyes of Wall Street.

    When he flees Rambobama’s cabinet I suspect Geithner will be offered and will accept at least a COO-level position with one of the major, multinational investment banks or financial services firms. Then again, perhaps he’ll take a window dressing position with a think tank or non-profit followed quickly by a major Wall Street gig, once the public has forgotten all about his administration role.

    In either case the man is so beholden to Wall Street special interests it boggles the mind.

  4. Neil Hudelson says:

    @Tsar Nicholas:

    Good point on the Goldman Sachs. I had known that at one time, but had forgotten it. My point–as I think you emphasized–was how beholden he is to the financial sector/’wall street special interests.’